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Professional Tax Registration & Compliance Filing

Professional Tax is a tax levied on professions and trades in India. It is a state-level tax and has to be compulsorily paid by every staff member employed in private companies. The business owner is responsible for deducting professional Tax from his employees' salaries and paying the amount collected to the appropriate government department.

Professional Tax is usually a slab amount based on the gross income of the professional. It is deducted from income every month. Some of the state governments have levied professional Taxes, and others didn't. Professional Tax is a state-imposed tax and is imposed on income earned by employees on rendering their services. TAXAJ Expert will help you get registered under Professional Tax without leaving the comfort of your home.
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About This Plan

Are you a self employed professional? Or you have employed people? Get Professional Tax Certificate with TAXAJ

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Timeline

It usually takes 3 to 5 working days.

Buy Now
Services Covered
Who Should Buy
How It's Done
Documents Required
Services Covered
  • Issue of Enrolment/ Registration Certificate
  • Documented Follow-up
  • Business hours - CA support
  • Does not include PT payment
Who Should Buy
  • Every self employed professional
  • Any entity employing one or more employees
How It's Done

    • Purchase of Plan
    • Upload documents on vault
    • Filing of enrolment/registration application
    • Receipt of enrolment certificate
Documents Required

  1. Name, Contact Number and Email Id of Stakeholder.

  2. Self Attested PAN, Aadhar & Passport size photo of Stakeholder.

  3. Specimen Signatures of Stakeholder.

  4. Latest Electricity Bill/Landline Bill of Registered Office.

  5. NOC from owner of registered office. (If Owned)

  6. Rent Agreement from Landlord. (If Rented/Leased)

  7. PAN, TAN, COI of the Business Entity

  8. Cancelled Cheque in business name

Which states fall under Professional Tax?

Professional Tax Applicable in States

1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Assam
3. Bihar
4. Chattisgarh
5. Gujarat
6. Karnataka
7. Kerala
8. Madhya Pradesh
9. Maharashtra
10. Manipur
11. Meghalaya
12. Mizoram
13. Orissa
14. Puducherry
15. Tamil Nadu
16. Tripura
17. West Bengal

Professional Tax Not Applicable in States

18. Arunachal Pradesh
19. Delhi
20. Goa
21. Haryana
22. Himachal Pradesh
23. Jammu & Kashmir
24. Jharkhand
25. Nagaland
26. Punjab
27. Rajasthan
28. Sikkim
29. Uttar Pradesh
30. Uttaranchal
31. Andaman & Nicobar
32. Chandigarh
33. Daman & Diu
34. Dadra & Nagar Haveli
35. Lakshadweep

What is Professional Tax and who Levies it?

The nomenclature ‘Professional tax’ could be one of those terms which do not completely convey the real meaning of the term. Unlike the name suggests, it is just not the tax levied only on professionals. It is a tax on all kinds of professions, trades, and employment and levied based on the income of such profession, trade and employment. It is levied on employees, a person carrying on business including freelancers, professionals, etc., subject to income exceeding the monetary threshold if any.

As per Article 246 of the Constitution of India, only Parliament has the exclusive power to make laws with respect to the Union List which includes taxes on income. The state has the power to make laws only with respect to the Concurrent and State list.

However, professional tax though is a kind of tax on income levied by State Government (not all states in the country chose to levy professional tax). The State Government is also empowered to make laws with respect to professional tax though being a tax on income under Article 276 of the Constitution of India which deals with tax on professions, trades, callings and employment.

It may be noted that professional tax is a deductible amount for the purpose of Income-tax Act, 1961 and can be deducted from taxable income.

Dual Registration and Separate Registration for Each State

An employer/professional must have dual registration. The two registrations required are:

A) Professional Tax Registration Certificate to pay tax on trade or profession

B) Professional Tax Enrollment Certificate to deduct such tax from the salaries, trade, etc.

For offices with multi-state presence, since the tax regimes vary in each state, a separate registration is required for each such office established under different State Legislations. Moreover, Registration Certificate has to be obtained by an employer within 30 days of the appointment of staff.

Deposit of Tax

Employer has employed  Make payment within
 More than 20 Employees 15 days from end of the month
 20 employees or less 15th of next month from the end of each quarter

Penalties for Non-Compliance:

While each state has the ability to fix penalty based on its own tax laws, the regime is generally centered around the following penalties:

Delay in  Non-Compliance Penalty levied by most states
 Registration Non-registration when the employer was liable to be registered Rs 5/Day
 Payment Non-payment of tax or payment after the due date. 10% of the Amount of Tax
 Filing of Return Non-filing of Tax Returns or delay in filing Rs 1000/ return delayed by 1 month
Rs 2000/return for a further delay.

Professional Tax Rate for Different States

Professional Tax or Profession Tax is levied by the State Government on the income of the assessee. Under Article 276 of the Indian Constitution, the state governments are empowered to decide the rate for the professional tax in the state. The maximum amount that can be charged under this tax regime is Rs. 2500. In a few states, this tax is even levied on the basis of source of income.

Professional Tax Rates in Andhra Pradesh

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 15,000
 Nil
 Rs. 15,001 - Rs. 20,000/- Rs 150
Rs. 20, 001 or above 
Rs 200

Professional Tax Rates in Assam

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
 Up to Rs.10,000/- Nil
Rs. 10,001 to  Rs. 15,000
 Rs 175
Rs. 15,001 to Rs. 24,999/-
Rs 180
Rs. 25,000 or above
 Rs. 208

Professional Tax Rates in Bihar

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 25,000/-
 Nil
Rs. 25,001 - Rs. 41,666
 Rs. 83.33
Rs. 41,667 - Rs. 83,333/-
 Rs. 166.67
Rs. 83,333 - or above
 Rs. 208.33

Professional Tax Rates in Goa

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 15,000/-
 Nil
Rs. 15,001 - Rs.25,000/-
 Rs. 150
Rs. 25,001 or above
 Rs. 200

Professional Tax Rates in Gujarat

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 5,999/-
 Nil
Rs. 6,000 - Rs. 8,999
 Rs. 80
Rs. 9,000 - Rs. 11,999/-
 Rs. 150
Rs.12,000 or above
 Rs. 200

Professional Tax Rates in Jharkhand

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 25,000/-
 Nil
Rs. 25,001 - Rs. 41,666/-
 Rs. 100
Rs. 41,667 - Rs. 66,666/-
 Rs. 150
Rs. 66,667 - Rs. 83,333/-
 Rs. 200
Rs. 83,334 - or above
 Rs. 208 (for first 11 months and Rs. 212 in last month)

Professional Tax Rates in Karnataka

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 15,000/-
 Nil
Rs. 15,001 or above
 Rs. 200

Professional Tax Rates in Kerala

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
 Up to Rs. 1,999 Nil
 From Rs. 2,000 – Rs. 2,999 Rs. 20
 From Rs. 3,000 – Rs. 4,999 Rs. 30
 From Rs. 5,000 – Rs. 7,499 Rs. 50
 From Rs. 7,500 – Rs. 9,999 Rs. 75
 From Rs. 10,000 – Rs. 12,499 Rs. 100
 From Rs. 12,500 – Rs. 16,666 Rs. 125
 From Rs. 16,667 – Rs. 20,833 Rs. 166
 Rs. 20,834 or above Rs. 208

Professional Tax Rates in Madhya Pradesh

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 18,750/- 
 Nil
Rs. 18,751 - Rs. 25,000/-
 Rs. 125
 Rs. 25,001 - Rs. 33,333/- Rs. 167
 Rs. 33,334/- or above 208 (11 months) & 212 (12th month) 

Professional Tax Rates in Maharashtra

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
 For Men Nil up to Rs. 7,500 
 From Rs. 7,500 – Rs. 10,000 Rs 175
 For Women Nil up to Rs. 10,000
 For all Above Rs. 10,000 Rs. 200 and Rs. 300 for the month of February 

Professional Tax Rates in Manipur

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
 Up to Rs. 4,250/- Nil
From Rs. 4,251 – Rs. 6,250/-
 Rs. 100
From Rs. 6,251 - Rs. 8,333/-
 Rs. 167
 From Rs. 8,334 - Rs. 10,416/- Rs. 200
From Rs. 10,417 or above
Rs. 208 & Rs. 212

Professional Tax Rates in Meghalaya

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 4,166/-
 Nil
From Rs. 4,167 - Rs. 6,250/-
 Rs. 16.50
From Rs. 6,251 - Rs. 8,333/-
 Rs. 25
 From Rs. 8,334 - Rs. 12,500/- Rs. 41.50
From Rs. 12,501 - Rs. 16,666/-
 Rs. 62.50
From Rs. 16,667 - Rs. 20,833/-
 Rs. 83.33
 From Rs. 20,834 - Rs. 25,000/- Rs. 104.16
 From Rs. 25,001 - Rs. 29,166/- Rs. 125
 From Rs. 29,167 - Rs. 33,333/- Rs. 150
 From Rs. 33,334 - Rs. 37,500 Rs. 175
 From Rs. 37,501 - Rs. 41,666 Rs. 200
Above Rs. 41,667/-
 Rs. 208

Professional Tax Rates in Nagaland

 Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 4,000/-
 Nil
From Rs. 4,001 - Rs. 5,000/-
 Rs. 35
From Rs. 5,001 - Rs. 7,000/-
 Rs. 75
 From Rs. 7,001 - Rs. 9,000/- Rs. 110
From Rs. 9,001 - Rs. 12,000/-
 Rs. 180
From Rs. 12,001 or above
 Rs. 208
 From Rs. 25,001 - Rs. 29,166/- Rs. 125
 From Rs. 29,167 - Rs. 33,333/- Rs. 150
 From Rs. 33,334 - Rs. 37,500 Rs. 175
 From Rs. 37,501 - Rs. 41,666 Rs. 200
Above Rs. 41,667/-
 Rs. 208

Professional Tax Rates in Odisha

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 13,304/-
 Nil
 From Rs. 13,305 - Rs. 25,000/- Rs. 125
 From Rs. 25,001 or aboveRs. 200 (11 months) & Rs. 300 (12th month)
 From Rs. 15,001 – Rs. 25,000 Rs. 130
 From Rs. 25,001 – Rs. 40,000 Rs. 150
 Over and Above Rs. 40,000 Rs. 200

Professional Tax Rates in Puducherry

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 16,666/- 
 Nil
 From Rs. 16,667 - Rs. 33,333/- Rs. 41.66
 From Rs. 33,334 - Rs. 50,000/-Rs. 83.33
 From Rs. 50,001 - Rs. 66,666/- Rs. 125
 From Rs. 66,667 - Rs. 83,333 Rs. 166.67
Rs. 83,333 and above
 Rs. 208.33

Professional Tax Rates in Punjab

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Above Rs. 20,833/-
 Rs. 200

Professional Tax Rates in Sikkim

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 20,000/-
 Nil
 From Rs. 20,001 - Rs. 30,000/- Rs. 125
 From Rs. 30,001 - Rs. 40,000/- Rs. 150
Above Rs. 40,000
 Rs. 200

Professional Tax Rates in Telangana

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 15,000/-
 Nil
 From Rs. 15,001 - Rs. 20,000/- Rs. 150
 From Rs. 20,001 - or above Rs. 200

Professional Tax Rates in Tripura

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
Up to Rs. 7,500/-
 Nil
 From Rs. 7,501 - Rs. 15,000/- Rs. 150
Rs. 15,000 or above Rs. 208

Professional Tax Rates in West Bengal

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
 Up to Rs. 8,500 Nil
 From Rs. 8,501 – Rs. 10,000 Rs. 90
 From Rs. 10,001 – Rs. 15,000 Rs. 110
 From Rs. 15,001 – Rs. 25,000 Rs. 130
 From Rs. 25,001 – Rs. 40,000 Rs. 150
 Over and Above Rs. 40,000 Rs. 200

Professional Tax Rates in Tamil Nadu

Slab (Income Per Month) Amount (Per Month)
 Up to Rs. 21,000 Nil
 From Rs. 21,001 – Rs. 30,000 Rs. 100
 From 30,001 – Rs. 45,000 Rs. 235
 From Rs. 40,001 – Rs. 60,000 Rs. 510
 From Rs. 60,001 – Rs. 75,000 Rs. 760
 From Rs. 75,001 and above  Rs. 1095

Similarly, there are different slabs and rates for the other states as well. For the month of February, the Professional Tax is a little higher than the rest of the eleven months in the year.

Who is responsible to collect and pay professional tax?

    • Professional tax is collected by the Commercial Tax Department. The commercial tax department of the respective states collect it which ultimately reaches the fund of municipality corporation.

      Persons responsible to pay professional tax

      •  In case of employees, an employer is a person responsible to deduct and pay professional tax to the State Government subject to the monetary threshold if any provided by respective State’s legislation. 
      • An employer (corporates, partnership firms, sole proprietorship, etc.) also being a person carrying on trade/profession is also required to pay professional tax on his trade/profession again subject to the monetary threshold if any provided by respective State’s legislation.
      • In such a case, the employer needs to register and obtain both a professional tax registration certificate to be able to pay professional tax on his trade/profession and professional tax enrolment certificate to be able to deduct the tax from his employees and pay. Further, separate registration may be required for each office depending on the respective State’s legislation.
      • Persons who are carrying on freelancing business without any employees are also required to register themselves subject to the monetary threshold if any, provided by the respective State’s legislation. 
        However, a professional tax levy is subject to the exemption provided by the respective State to certain categories. For example, parents or guardian of any person who is suffering from mental retardation, blind persons are exempted among others from levy of Karnataka Professional tax.

What is the procedure to pay Professional Tax? Is any return to be filed?

This is again a State-specific query. However, in general, a professional tax may be paid either online/offline. Further, depending on the State’s requirement, professional tax returns also need to be filed at specified intervals.

Consequences of Violation of Professional Tax Regulation

While the actual amount of penalty or penal interest may depend on the respective State’s legislation, a penalty may be levied by all such states for not registering once professional tax legislation becomes applicable.

Further, there are also penalties for not making the payment within the due date and also failing to file the return within the specified due date.

For example: In the State of Maharashtra Rs 5/day is imposed as a penalty for delay in registration, Interest @ 1.25% per month of delay in payment, a penalty of 10% of the amount of tax in case of delay/non payment of professional tax, Rs 1000 – Rs 2000 penalty for delay in filing the return

Due Dates for Filing of Professional Tax Returns in India

In India, Professional Tax Payment Due Dates are listed by state, (List Cant Be Seen in Mobile)

S NoStatePeriodicityProfessional Tax Payment Due Date
1Andhra PradeshMonthlyIt is always the 10th of the month
2AssamMonthlyUsually on the 28th of each month
3BiharYearlyThe 30th of November is always the same
4GujarathMonthlyOn the 15th of each month
5JharkhandYearlyEvery year on October 31st
6KarnatakaMonthlyEvery month on the 20th
7KeralaHalf Yearly28th of February and 31st of August
8Madhya PradeshMonthlyEvery 10th of the month
9MaharashtraMonthlyOn the last day of every month
10ManipurYearlyTaking place on the 30th of March
11MeghalayaMonthlyEvery 28th of the month
12OdishaMonthlyOn the last day of every month
13MizoramYearlyOn June 30th
14PuducherryHalf YearlyThe 30th of June and the 31st of December
15SikkimQuarterlyThe 31st of July, the 31st of October, the 31st of January, and the 30th of April
16Tamil NaduHalf YearlyOn the 30th of September and the 31st of March
17TelanganaMonthlyEvery 10th of the month
18West BengalMonthlyEvery 21st of the month

​​Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. What is professional tax and when is it levied?

Professional tax is a state level tax which is imposed on income earned by way of profession, trade, calling or employment. The tax is based on slabs depending upon income of individual who may be self employed or working as employee of an entity. At present the maximum tax that can be imposed is restricted to is Rs. 2,500/-.
Q. Is there any exemption from PT payment?

Every state has its own governing provisions and exemption criteria. For example Karnataka PT act, has given exemption to certain persons from payment of PT. All charitable and philanthropic hospitals or nursing homes situated in places below the Taluk level in all districts of the State except Bangalore and Bangalore Rural District. Directors of Companies registered in Karnataka and nominated by the financing agencies owned or controlled by the State Government or by other statutory bodies. Foreign technicians employed in the State provided their appointments are approved by the Government of India for the purpose of exemption from payment of income tax for the said period ( exemption is for a period of 2 years from the date of their joining duty). Combatant and civilian non combatant members of the Armed Forces who are governed by the Army Act, the Navy Act and the Air Force Act. Salaried or wage earning blind persons. Salaried or wage earning deaf and dumb persons. Holders of permits of single taxi or single three wheeler goods vehicle. Institutes teaching Kannada or English Shorthand or Typewriting. A Physically handicapped person not less than 40% of permanent disability (subject to production of certificate from the HOD of Government Civil Hospital). An ex-serviceman not falling under Sl No.1 of the Schedule. A person having single child and who has undergone sterilization operation, subject to production of a certificate from the District Surgeon, Government Civil Hospital, for having undergone such operation. Central Para Military Force (CPMF) Personnel. Persons running educational institutions in respect of their branches teaching classes up to twelfth standard or pre-University Education. No tax is payable by persons who have attained age of sixty five years. Also no tax is payable for holding any Profession for less than 120 days in the year. Our experts will guide on on applicability of the provisions.
Q. Is Professional tax imposed in every state in India?

Professional tax is imposed only in following States: Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, Gujarat, Assam, Kerala, Meghalaya, Odisha, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, and Sikkim.
Q. Can the professional tax liability amount be paid in lump sum?

In certain states there is concept of composition scheme. For e.g. in case of Maharashtra, the government announced composition scheme under which any person liable to make payment to government at rate of Rs. 2500 may make a lump sum payment in advance of Rs. 10,000 and his liability to pay for 5 years will be discharged.
Q. What will be the other costs in the registration process?

The plan price covers all professional fees and convenience charge. Since Professional tax is state level tax the applicable govt. charges vary from state to state.
Government charges will be charged on actual basis..
Q. Which are the specific cities where the service will be delivered?

The service is state specific in case you need a shop license and will be rendered only in specific cities being Mumbai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Surat, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Pune and Delhi.
Q. Who is responsible for deducting the tax and depositing the same with Government?

👉 In case of individuals who are self employed the tax has to be paid by the individual himself.
👉 In case of employed individuals, the liability is on the employer.
Q. What is enrolment certificate and what is registration certificate?

Every employer in specific states is required to deduct taxes from salary when paid to one or more employees when payment made exceeds Rs.5,000/- (this limit is for Maharashtra) and deposit with state government. That entity is required to obtain registration certificate. When person is employed in profession by two or more employers and is getting salary/wages exceeding Rs.5,000/- but employer is not deducting professional tax then the individual needs to get enrolment certificate from authority.